These were the most popular Voice of San Diego stories for the week.
1. About 5 Percent of San Diego Homes Are Off Limits as Housing
A recent analysis found 57,000 of the region’s homes are vacation or second homes that often sit vacant, exacerbating the housing crisis because they’re unavailable to people who live and work here or would like to. (Lisa Halverstadt)
2. Politics Report: Candidates’ Cannabis Use
Socialists grapple with housing policy, the Port’s chairman (and business community) grapples with a proposal to radically change management of the airport and candidates for county supervisor acknowledge their own cannabis use. Is the taboo over? (Scott Lewis)
3. The Learning Curve: ‘Restorative Justice’ Can Make Schools More Violent If Not Done Right
The DA vows to hold accountable students who make school threats, a review of discipline referrals in Minnesota raises questions about teacher biases and more in our biweekly roundup of education news. (Mario Koran)
At the same time, human smuggling prosecutions – meaning instances where criminal charges are filed – are higher than they were five years ago. (Maya Srikrishnan)
5. Legal Bills Pile Up at San Diego Unified
The amount the San Diego Unified School District spends on outside lawyers rose by $1 million in the last two years alone, despite expansions to the district’s in-house legal services intended to keep costs down. From 2012 through 2017, San Diego Unified School District paid law firms more than $12.7 million. (Ashly McGlone)
6. Report Casts Serious Doubt on SDG&E’s Green Power Plan
A city-funded review by an outside consultant found SDG&E’s offer to provide city customers with 100 percent green power “gives little or no information about the approach, costs or risks,” and may threaten the city’s ambitious plans to fight climate change. (Ry Rivard)
7. Discipline Policies Complicate Response to Violent Episodes at Lincoln High
Documents show a Lincoln student who stabbed a classmate had brought a knife to campus two weeks earlier but was allowed back to school. Administrators at Lincoln say they must balance district efforts to lower suspensions with keeping the campus safe. (Mario Koran)
8. County Leaders Will Consider Joining Trump Lawsuit
County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kristin Gaspar says the board will discuss in closed session whether to join the lawsuit between California and the Trump administration over the state’s sanctuary policies. (Maya Srikrishnan)
9. Sacramento Report: San Diego Might Side With Trump Over State on Sanctuary
San Diego County leaders might decide to throw in with the Trump administration in its fight with the state over sanctuary policies. (Marisa Agha)
10. County Supe Candidates, Left and Right, Want to Spend County’s Reserves
Candidates to replace longtime County Supervisor Ron Roberts, who represents much of the city of San Diego, want to bolster county spending on homelessness and housing. (Lisa Halverstadt)